When Evil Lurks 4K Review (Second Sight Films)

When Evil Lurks (aKa Cuando Acecha La Maldad) is a 2023 horror film written and directed by Demian Rugna (Satanic Hispanics, Terrified, The Last Gateway, Cursed Bastards, and You Don’t Know Who You’re Talking To). It was executive produced by Emily Gotto (Doc of Chucky, The Rule of Jenny Pen, Out Come the Wolves, We were Dangerous, Oddity, Christmas Bloody Christmas, and the V/H/S franchise). It grossed $2,090,252 worldwide at the box office!!!! In a remote village, two brothers Pedro (played by: Ezequiel Rodríguez from The Road, Violetta, Maria, and Legions) and Jimi (played by: Demián Salomón from Punto Rojo, Terrified, Satanic Hispanics, and Bienvenidos Al Infierno) find a demon-infected man just about to give birth to evil itself. They decide to get rid of the man but merely succeed in helping him to deliver the inferno. So all of the local residents suffer through their fatal mistake!!!! When Evil Lurks is one of the best Spanish horror features in a long time. It mixes the body horror and possession sub-genres. It kinda like The Hidden meets The Exorcist with a little John Carpenters The Thing thrown in. I love the paranoid atmosphere for this one. It’s hard to tell who’s really infected at times so it causes some serious issues. The screenplay is definitely stronger towards the first half but it stays interesting throughout it all. Director Demian Rugna is starting to make a name for himself with the previous Terrified and Satanic Hispanics, When Evil Lurks is even better than those two. Ezequiel Rodríguez as Pedro and Demián Salomón as Jimi are the two leads in this wild ride. They are great as the conflicted brothers trying to make up for all the evil that they unloaded into this small community. They are desperate to do whatever it takes and they unfortunately sacrifice some for this disaster. The rest of the supporting cast includes Silvina Sabater (The Wrath of God), Luis Ziembrowski (Kill the Jockey), Marcelo Michinaux (Fever Dream), Emilio Vodanovich (Blood Will Tell), Virginia Garófalo (The Boss), Paula Rubinsztein (In the Mud), Isabel Quinteros (The Tombs), Federico Liss (Kryptonite), Jorge Prado (Terror 5), Diego Sampayo (Dead End), and Desirée Salgueiro (Luciferina). When Evil Lurks is packed with chaos, suspense, tension, violence, and gore. The special fx are way better than expected here. It’s brutal and gruesome when it really just comes apart. It’s a different take on the body swap and body horror type of movie. The evil doesn’t discriminate when it comes to what it possesses. Even a variety of animals are not safe in When Evil Lurks. I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets remade in the states in a few years. When Evil Lurks is very entertaining and fun as these families struggle to survive this living nightmare. It’s currently streaming on Hulu, Shudder, and AMC+ if you are curious about it, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Second Sight Films! This 2160p (2.35:1) unrated transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 looks great in HD for this home video release with this brand new 4K restoration. When Evil Lurks has impressive cinematography, production design, locations, and special fx that stand out when it comes to the visuals. It has an Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the UHD. The audio is fantastic and it just enhances it’s paranoia as everything turns into something different. All of the dialogue is crisp, the tension is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with author Gabriel Eljaiek-Rodriguez. The writer gives his opinions on the Spanish horror feature here. Much respect to him because English clearly isn’t his first language but he does a great job at explaining everything in it. It’s an interesting track, it’s worth checking out if you are fan of this one. It has the almost 28 minute “It Was Always There”. It’s a brand new exclusive a new interview with director Demián Rugna. He chats about his origins in film making and he brings up some of his influences. He goes over his ideas for When Evil Lurks. He’s very honest about his problems and issues while making the horror film. He is very detailed about his experiences and the overall production for it. It has the little over 23 minute “Tragedy is Inevitable”. It’s a brand new exclusive interview with lead actor Ezequiel Rodríguez. He chats about his start and background as an actor over the years. He talks about how he got this project and his experience on it. It’s the first horror movie that he worked on. He shares some challenges from it. It has the almost 18 minute “We Made a Movie”. It’s a brand new exclusive interview with lead actor Demián Salomón. Lots of cool information and stories in this. It always fascinating learning more about the cast and the film with these inside looks from Second Sight. It has the almost 19 minute “Stripped to the Bone”. It’s a brand new exclusive interview with actor Virginia Garófalo. She shares her thoughts, own experiences, and talks about her character. She breaks down When Evil Lurks. She gets very excited and speaks fast about it. I really enjoyed how different All of these personal conversations were on the Spanish horror feature. All of these interviews are in Spanish with English subtitles. It has the almost 9 minute “Terror and the Unknown in When Evil Lurks”. It’s a video essay with podcaster Mike Muncer. He shares his appreciation, opinions, and personal takes on When Evil Lurks. The journalist is very blunt and real when talking about the movie. He goes over the director’s previous work on this also. This Second Sight version has way more extras compared to the U.S. home video release so if you are a fan it’s a nice upgrade to that. It’s available everywhere right now in the U.K. and select spots in the states, CHECK IT OUT!!!!